I have on my desk a shallow box that's slightly larger than a normal size sheet of paper. On it there are 24 perforated windows, making it an advent calendar. Each box is numbered, and when you open a window, it reveals a Cadbury chocolate and images of Christmas like small toys or Christmas trees. There's a light snow falling this morning, and the whole mission home is full of smells and decorations that lend to the overall Christmas atmosphere. In the immortal words of Kermit the Frog, "After all, there's only one more [week] 'til Christmas!"
This week was very Christmasy in a lot of ways. For starters, we hit the road on Tuesday with a van full of Christmas packages. With a bag of sunflower seeds and a Santa Claus hat, we hit the blizzardy roads of the Czech and Slovak republics, making rounds to all the districts on the way. We pulled into Zilina in Slovakia Tuesday night and woke up early the next morning to hold our last training for the year in Slovakia. The training was great, the missionaries all took home new ideas and new fire to do the work with more zeal and spirit. Immediately after the conference, it was back on the road to get back to Prague. Elder Thompson is a great driver, and despite slippery, icy roads and hills, we rolled back into Prague on Wednesday night, ready to take on the rest of the week.
This is where we roll to the news. My parents have known for some time, but I'm not sure about what news has been passed around, so I'll break the news officially to everyone.
Thursday this week we had a mini-transfer. I'm still here in Prague with Elder Thompson. But, we've added another missionary to our companionship making it a threesome of assistants. Elder Andersen from Texas moved apartments in Prague. He used to be a zone leader here, but he's come on board as another assistant to compensate for some other changes that are happening. A few months ago, President Irwin sat me down and discussed the departure of the Andersons (So many Anderson's in the picture, so we'll keep this straight: The Anderson couple are the mission finance and executive secretaries, Elder Anderson is me, and Elder Andersen is the zone leader gone AP). The Andersons are going home in January, but their replacements, a senior couple from Utah, won't be coming until March. Last time the office couple switched, it was very hectic because there was about a 2 month gap in the mean time when there was no real training for either of the jobs, leaving the Andersons in the dark for several months. To avoid that and keep things running smoothly, I've been asked to serve as the mission finance and executive secretary and, when possible, to still serve with my two other companions. To fill the gap completely, we've also applied for and received approval for an extension to my mission! When everything is said and done, I'll be back in the USA on the 28th of March. I feel really blessed to get the extra time out here. Things will be different, but it seems that they are always different since things are always changing. But, it's evident that this is all part of the plan and that the Lord arranged everything this way. He knew how things needed to be and he knows Who to put in what places. He knows me by name. What a good thing to know.
As far as the changes we'll see from this, I'll spend a lot more time in the office, I've learned a lot about accounting, why credits are recorded as minuses and debits are pluses (Still wrapping my head around that one, but I think I get it), and how to use a fax machine. Re-reading that line probably has one of my biggest worries - what am I going to write about each week? I'm sure you'll all be dying to know about the new spreadsheet we have for tracking rents and apartments, or each time I fix printer jams, but those are at best poor excuses for letter material. I'm sure that life will throw interesting as well as spiritual curve balls, as it always does, and that the best read blog from the Czech Prague mission office will not run dry of dry wit, or get soggy with silly consonance.
I do have a few thoughts to share as we approach the holiday associated with His birth, perhaps revolving around the oft-mentioned gift-giving associated with Christmas time and how the best gifts are the gifts of self. I sometimes wonder how we can give of ourselves, but the heart of the matter is just that: our hearts. The giving of ourselves is truly found from our hearts. I cannot say how many times I've seen stark contrast as a missionary between work I've done and work I've done because of love. There is no comparison in the results, in the blessings, or in the difference we can make in someone else's life when there is our heart involved. Elder Wilson, a soon-to-depart missionary, touched on this in the testimony meeting last night when he said that the influence of a priesthood leader is much greater than we realize when they have the spirit, which includes doing things from the heart. A couple of words spoken by the Holy Ghost at a missionary conference serve to answer many prayers. A couple of words easily fade into everything else presented or spoken, but it's small and simple things like that which make the impact.
I think that's why I'm so grateful to be where I am right now. My mission looks very different to what I expected when I first put the name tag on, but it's so much more rewarding than I expected it to be as well. I know that the most important thing, and the thing I'd like you all to get from today's letter, is to put yourself in a position where the Lord can rely on you and do what He wants you to do. I think we sometimes say, "well, he knows everything, he is all-powerful, so despite my own personal weaknesses He'll do what he wants." I somehow doubt that an attitude like that is a workable one with the Lord. It's like when we feel a spiritual prompting and ignore it, it will persist for a few moments and then fade into the background patiently and wait for us to come to Him, or it will go to someone who may not be as capable but is willing and humble. That willingness and humility, both stemming from faith, make all the difference. Pray "Lord, I recommit myself to you. Do what you need with me, and I'll go there with You." I find it rather scary personally, but when I do that I see greater blessings thanks to it.
In other news, we went to the airport this morning to drop Elders Wilson and Melling off, however much to their dismay their flight had been cancelled and they will be leaving in another two days. I hope you enjoyed what's been on my mind lately and that you leave time to ponder, perhaps when it gets dark, to step outside into crunchy snowflakes and see my breath billow into the icy air. I love to look at stars in those moments, it seems to remind me where I fit in as part of the big picture, and it reminds me that despite the vastness, He does know us by name.
S láskou,
Starší Brent Anderson
No comments:
Post a Comment